Marking tool, kit and method of use

ABSTRACT

A reusable marking system for use in visualizing, designating and synchronizing the rows, columns or blocks of fabric used in quilt designs is disclosed. The marking system utilizes a plurality of pre-sequenced, pin-type, marking tools to designate the specific order of quilt designs for final assembly. The present invention also includes a kit for receiving, organizing and storing the marking tools.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to tools and methods useful in the design and organization of artwork. More particularly, the present invention relates to a reusable pin-type marking system for use primarily in organizing and synchronizing the design and assembly of sections or blocks of fabric used in the creation of quilts.

Historically, quilts were made exclusively for utilitarian purposes. However, in modern times quilting has become a form of art using fabric as the medium just as an artist would use paint. Quilt designers often use very intricate and artistic patterns and designs involving themes, geometric sequences, grids, etc. in order to “paint” the quilt canvas. Virtually all quilt designs involve the use of repetitive rows or columns of blocks of fabric to make up the overall quilt design. The creation of a quilt design can be, and most often is, a very tedious endeavor resulting in hours of work in order to achieve the desired design or pattern. Modern quilt artists typically use a wall or board covered in flannel, or some other fabric attracting surface, in order to temporarily place, hold and assemble their designs thereby allowing the artist to visualize the rows, columns and/or squares of their design as it is being created and to see the finished quilt design before it is caused to be sewn together. The quilt design wall/board also allows the artist to easily change the placement of the fabric squares and/or to change the colors or order of the rows or columns of the design in order to achieve the artist's vision of the perfect quilt. Once the final quilt design has been established, the fabric blocks or squares that comprise the rows or columns of the artist's design must then be disassembled and removed from the design wall and kept in design-specific “order” so that the complete design can be transferred intact to a sewing station for final synchronization and assembly. Keeping the specific order of the rows or columns of fabric blocks of the final quilt design is absolutely critical to the successful synchronization and assembly of the quilt by the seamstress. Various means have been employed or attempted by quilt artists in the past for labeling, marking or otherwise designating the order of the fabric blocks or squares comprising the rows or columns of final quilt designs. However, these prior attempts have been met with measured or limited success. Some quilt artists, including your applicant, have tried numbering the rows or columns of the final quilt design by using adhesive hand-numbered “sticky” notes or hand-numbered adhesive mailing labels or hand-numbered bits of masking tape or hand-numbered bits of paper pinned to the fabric. While these methods will generally work, they are typically cumbersome, not readily reusable and are very time consuming. Others have used a system wherein a plurality of safety pins are used to mark the rows or columns of the final quilt design where one pin is used to mark or designate row/column #1, two pins would mark or designate row/column #2, three pins for row/column #3, etc. While this method or system will also work, it is obviously very tedious and time consuming; especially in light of the fact that many quilt designs will have twenty or more rows or columns in the final design.

A simple, inexpensive and permanent solution is needed for this ongoing and basic problem that all modern quilt artists face. It would be expedient, therefore, to provide a simple, reusable, pre-numbered tool, kit and system for use by quilt artists in designing, visualizing and synchronizing the rows, blocks, columns and/or squares of fabric utilized in the art of quilt making.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a simple, reusable, tool, kit and method for marking and synchronizing the design and assembly of intricate works of art such as quilts.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a pre-numbered, reusable, marking system for use in visualizing, designating and synchronizing the rows, columns or blocks of fabric used in quilt designs comprises a series of straight pins having large flattened heads with numerical or other sequential designations imprinted or embedded thereon. A multi-compartmented storage and carrying device for organizing and storing the marking pins is also included.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive solution to an ongoing and basic problem faced by all quilting artists.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an organized and permanent solution to said ongoing and basic problem.

An important advantage of the present invention is the provision of a simple method and apparatus which allows a quilt artist to easily designate, and therefore synchronize, the sequential order of the rows or columns of the artist's quilt design for final assembly.

Another advantage of the present invention resides in the elimination of other tedious marking methods such as the use of adhesive tape, paper or a multiplicity of pins.

A further advantage of the present invention resides in the provision of method and apparatus for marking or designating the rows or columns of a quilt design which allows the quilt artist to easily and confidently maintain the specific order of the design while dismantling the quilt design for final assembly.

Another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a permanent tool for marking and designating the rows or columns of quilt designs wherein said tool is made of durable, lightweight material.

A further advantage of the present invention is the provision of an organizing kit for accessing and storing the pre-numbered marking pins of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is perspective view of an embodiment of the invention showing a representative number of the pre-numbered marking pins.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the storage and organizational kit for use with the marking pins of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a final quilt design wherein the design rows have been marked for removal and synchronization with the marking pins of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a portion of the final quilt design of FIG. 3 showing the marking pins of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in place.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the final quilt design of FIG. 3 showing the rows designated by the marking pins of FIG. 1 being stacked in design-specific order for removal and transport to a sewing station.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of two of the design stacks of FIG. 5 being redeployed in design-specific row order for final assembly by a seamstress.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the design stacks of FIG. 5 after full redeployment by the seamstress wherein pin-marked rows 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6 and 7 & 8 have been sewn together by the seamstress thereby creating four blocks of two rows each.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the quilt design of FIG. 7, showing marking pins in place, wherein rows 2 & 3 and 6 & 7 have been sewn together by the seamstress thereby creating two blocks of four rows each.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the quilt design of FIG. 7, showing marking pins in o place, wherein the final edges of rows 4 & 5 of the quilt design have been sewn together by the seamstress thereby completing the final assembly of the quilt design.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1 shows a plurality of pre-designated, reusable, marking tools 100. Each of said marking tools 100 comprising a head portion 110 and an elongated pin portion 130. The head portion 110 of said tool 100 comprises a flat-surfaced, dual-sided, section of rigid material 111 having, in this embodiment, a square geometric shape 112 and having a top edge 113 and a bottom edge 114. The elongated pin portion 130 of said tool 100 comprises a rod 131 which extends perpendicularly and centrally from the bottom edge 113 of the head portion 110 of said tool 100, and within the same plane as said head portion 100 of said tool 100, and culminates in a needle-shaped point 132. Each tool 100 further comprises a marking designation 120 imbedded or imprinted on either side of the flat dual-sided section 111 of the head portion 110 of each marking tool 100. In the present embodiment, said marking designations 120 are sequential numbers.

Referring now to FIG. 2; FIG. 2 shows a dual-sided organizational and storage kit 200 for placing and organizing the marking tools 100 of FIG. 1. Said kit 200 comprises an upper section 210 and a lower section 220 with each section 210 & 220 having a plurality of compartments 230 for receiving, organizing and storing the pre-designated tools 100 of FIG. 1. Said upper and lower sections 210 & 220 of said kit 200 further comprising an upper lid 211 and a lower lid 221 respectively as shown. The upper and lower lids 211 & 221 of said sections 210 & 220 further comprising hinging mechanisms 270 and latching mechanisms 280 respectively as shown. In the present embodiment, said kit 200 has a circular geometric shape 250 with its upper and lower section 210 & 220 compartments 230 having pie-shaped dimensions 260 radiating outwardly from the center of each section 210 & 220 of said kit 200.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-9; FIGS. 3 and 4 show a quilt design 300 wherein squares of fabric 310 have been placed by a quilt artist in rows 320 of design-specific order onto a design board or wall (not shown) and wherein the initial fabric square 310 of each design row 320 having been marked in sequential row order with the marking tools 100 of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 shows the numbered rows 320 designated by the sequentially numbered marking tools 100 being removed and placed into stacks 330 of design-specific order for transport to a sewing station (not shown). FIG. 6 shows the stacks 330 of fabric 310 of FIG. 5 being re-deployed by the seamstress and showing the fabric squares 310 of each row 320 being sewn together in accordance with the artist's specific design. FIGS. 7-9 shows the re-deployed stacks 330 of each design row 320 of said quilt design 300 being sequentially sewn together by the seamstress in accordance with the design-specific order designated by the marking tools 100 thereby competing the final assembly of the quilt 300 in compliance with the original quilt design 300 of the quilt artist.

Upon completion of the final assembly of the quilt 300, the marking tools 100 used to assist in the synchronization of said assembly are removed from the quilt 300 and returned to the organizational kit 200 to be sequentially organized and stored within the compartments 230 of said kit 200 for future use.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various alterations in form, detail and construction may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A permanent, reusable marking system for use in designating, visualizing and synchronizing the rows, columns or blocks of fabric of unassembled quilt designs comprising: a plurality of sequentially designated marking tools wherein each tool comprises a head component and an elongated pin component; wherein said head component comprises a flat-surfaced, dual-sided, section of rigid material and wherein said elongated pin component comprises a rigid cylindrical shaft member attached at one end to said flat section of said head component and wherein said cylindrical shaft member has a needle-shaped point at its opposing end; said head component of each tool further comprising a sequential marking on either side of said dual-sided section of rigid material.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said cylindrical shaft member is attached to said head component in such a manner as to lie within the same plane as the flat section of said head component.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said cylindrical shaft member is attached to said head component so as to not lie within the same plane as the flat section of said head component.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said cylindrical shaft member is attached to said head component so as to form a homogeneous extension of said head component.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said cylindrical shaft member is attached to said head component so as to extend perpendicularly away from said head component.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said cylindrical shaft is attached to said head component so as to extend away from said head component at an angle other than 90 degrees.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sequential markings on the head components of said tools are numerical.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sequential markings on the head components of said tools are alphabetical.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sequential markings on the head components of said tools are non-numerical and non-alphabetical.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tools are comprised of metal.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tools are comprised of a rigid material other than metal.
 12. A kit for use in designating, visualizing and synchronizing the rows, columns or blocks of fabric of unassembled quilt designs said kit comprising: a plurality of sequentially designated pin-type marking tools; and, a dual-sided housing device having multiple compartments in each side of said housing device for receiving, organizing and storing said marking tools wherein each side of said housing device further comprises a hinged lid and a latching mechanism.
 13. The kit of claim 12, wherein said dual-sided housing device is circular in shape and wherein said compartments have angular dimensions radiating outwardly from the center of said housing device.
 14. A method of organizing, designating and synchronizing the rows, columns or blocks of fabric used in quilt designs for final assembly of the quilt design comprising the steps of: placing sections of fabric upon a design board or wall in order to form rows or columns comprising a specific quilt design, attaching sequentially designated pin-type marking tools to the section of fabric at the beginning of each row or column, removing and stacking the sections of fabric comprising each row or column of said quilt design in design-specific order whereby the section of fabric having the marking tool attached is at the top of each stack, transporting said design-specific stacks of fabric with the marking tools in place to a sewing station for final assembly, redeploying said stacks of fabric into design-specific ordered rows or columns using said marking tools as a guide, assembling the rows or columns of said quilt design in accordance with the order designated by said marking tools. 